Cam’ron Says Mase Became a Pastor to Get Away from Violence

Ma$e stunned the rap world 18 years ago when he left his post as a rap superstar at the height of his influence to become a pastor. Although Ma$e said he left the rap game because he felt he was setting a bad example for his fans, Cam'ron offered his own explanation for the Harlem Worldartist's temporary sabbatical from the music industry.

According to Killa Cam, it was the perils of sudden success and the threat of violence that led Ma$e—who also went by Murda Ma$e before he reached mainstream success—to become a preacher.

"Ma$e said, 'You know what I'mma just start saying I'm in church.' Ma$e took it too far though, started preaching, all that shit," Cam explained during what appears to have been an Instagram Live session. "I see what he was doing with that shit. He was like, 'You know what? Niggas ain't gon' muthafuckin' harass me if I'm in church.' That's what Ma$e did. He was like, 'Yo, they can't beef with me, they can't ask me for nothing, I'm going to throw on a reverend collar and get the fuck out of here, fuck that.'"

Cam went on to explain that Ma$e's willingness to walk away from his success as a triple platinum-selling artist was understandable, seeing as he's known 30-year-olds who couldn't deal with having millions of dollars while Ma$e was only 21 when he became a superstar. You can watch the rest of Cam's video below. The Ma$e bit begins at around the 5:50 mark.

Cam raises some interesting points, but maybe it's best to treat his words as simply a funny way of looking at Ma$e's temporary leave from the rap game. As we all know now, he returned in 2004, and this past summer and fall, he appeared on Diddy's Bad Boy Reunion tour.